Sabato back to GH (kinda)

From TVGuide:

Things are about to get steamy — make that very steamy — in Port Charles. Antonio Sabato, Jr. has signed on to join General Hospital: Night Shift. SOAPnet reports Sabato — who began his acting career on daytime's GH — will reprise his role as Jagger Cates. SOAPnet recently renewed Night Shift for a second season and says Sabato will appear in all 13 episodes of the upcoming season, which kicks off next month.Jagger's return to Port Charles is sure to stir up some painful memories for Dr. Robin Scorpio (Kimberly McCullough), who's got Dr. Patrick Drake's (Jason Thompson) baby in the oven. Jagger's brother, Stone, was her first love and his death from AIDS shattered her life. Jagger also returns with his 5-year-old son, named for his late brother.

Soaphunks.net turns 10 today!

Where has the decade gone?

It's official: today is soaphunks.net's 10th birthday. Once upon a time sitting in my old bedroom, I decided the Internet needed a place for easy access to pictures of Don Diamont and Drake Hogestyn (among a few others - lol) and whipped up a very small, very bare bones Web site. This, folks, was June 5, 1998.

Ten years later, the site has grown exponentially and become more popular than I could have ever imagined. With five very successful summertime Adonis contests, and nine editions of the Soaphunks.net Awards, plus 6,326 pictures and 144 video clips and plenty of other special features, such as the 100 Most Memorable Moments in Soap History, the site has always been a blast to bring to you.

I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who has helped me with the site over the years, and to all of you for visiting and making it so popular. The site always has been and always will be free, thanks to the support of generous donations from people like you.

Look for a 10th anniversary update with new pictures and video clips to be uploaded this weekend.

And again, thanks.

soapy

Beemer beams to B&B

The rumors are true, and recent DAYS cast-off Brandon Beemer is set to join B&B later this month in an as-yet-unnamed role. Whispers had been circulating online ever since the actor's DAYS departure that he might be headed to either B&B or OLTL. The length of Beemer's stay is also unclear at this time.

Beemer has been a very popular feature at soaphunks.net since his debut, racking up 9 Soaphunks.net Award nominations and 5 wins, plus a 6th place finish in Adonis 2007.

35th Annual Daytime Emmy Nominations Announced

The nominees for the 35th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards were announced this morning. Of the three people I was really rooting for this year (ATWT's Austin Peck and OLTL's Kathy Brier & John-Paul Lavoisier), a grand total of NONE of them got included. So ho-hum, here's this year's list of the (mostly) usual suspects:

Outstanding Drama Series
General Hospital (ABC)
Guiding Light (CBS)
One Life to Live (ABC)
The Young and the Restless (CBS)

Outstanding Lead Actor
Peter Bergman, The Young and the Restless (CBS)
David Canary, All My Children (ABC)
Anthony Geary, General Hospital (ABC)
Christian LeBlanc, The Young and the Restless (CBS)
Thaao Penghlis, Days of our Lives (NBC)

Outstanding Lead Actress
Crystal Chappell, Guiding Light (CBS)
Jeanne Cooper, The Young and the Restless (CBS)
Nicole Forester, Guiding Light (CBS)
Michelle Stafford, The Young and the Restless (CBS)
Maura West, As the World Turns (CBS)

Outstanding Supporting Actor
Daniel Cosgrove, Guiding Light (CBS)
Trent Dawson, As the World Turns (CBS)
Brian Kerwin, One Life to Live (ABC)
Greg Rikaart, The Young and the Restless (CBS)
Kristoff St. John, The Young and the Restless (CBS)

Outstanding Supporting Actress
Tracey Bregman, The Young and the Restless (CBS)
Judi Evans, Days of our Lives (NBC)
Kelley Menighan Hensley, As the World Turns (CBS)
Gina Tognoni, Guiding Light (CBS)
Heather Tom, The Bold and the Beautiful (CBS)

Outstanding Younger Actor
Darin Brooks, Days of our Lives (NBC)
Van Hansis, As the World Turns (CBS)
Bryton McClure, The Young and the Restless (CBS)
Tom Pelphrey, Guiding Light (CBS)
Jesse Soffer, As the World Turns (CBS)

Outstanding Younger Actress
Vail Bloom, The Young and the Restless (CBS)
Jennifer Landon, As the World Turns (CBS)
Rachel Melvin, Days of our Lives (NBC)
Emily O'Brien, The Young and the Restless (CBS)
Tamin Sursok, The Young and the Restless (CBS)

Outstanding Daytime Drama Writing Team
The Bold and the Beautiful (CBS)
General Hospital (ABC)
Guiding Light (CBS)
One Life to Live (ABC)
The Young and the Restless (CBS)

Outstanding Daytime Drama Directing Team
All My Children (ABC)
The Bold and the Beautiful (CBS)
General Hospital (ABC)
One Life to Live (ABC)

Overpraised: Y&R, which even its fans said had an off year. You'd never know it from its annual truckload of nominations. If it was so damn good, why did Lynn Marie Latham just get shown the door?

Underpraised: OLTL, which nabbed a deserved Best Show nom, but only one acting nom to go with it. How Trevor St. John, Tuc Watkins, John-Paul Lavoisier, and ESPECIALLY Kathy Brier got the shaft is beyond me.

Duly praised: ATWT, which was not worthy of a Show or Writing nomination, and got neither. However, its large cast of strong actors got plenty of mentions, although Austin Peck was the show's most compelling performer this year and was likely just sidelined because of his past work on DAYS. Wake up Academy: Peck was the man most deserving that was left wanting this morning. He certainly had more to offer than Dawson (an actor I adore), who was mostly relegated to pouring coffee at the diner in 2007.

Right amount of praise but to the wrong people: DAYS hasn't had four acting nominations in the same year in eons, so I'm thrilled to see it back in contention. But some of the choices here still boggle the mind. Judi Evans? Thaao Penghlis? What about Alison Sweeney or James Scott? Darin Brooks over Blake Berris? Rachel Melvin is the only one I can really see.

Join us tonight in chat (10pm ET/7pm PT) to get my full snarky commentary on this decidedly uninspired set of nominations.

Second time's the charm

Well, it happened again, FINALLY. Now maybe if we don't make a big deal about this one, maybe it'll be followed by more and more, since it really ought to not be that big of a deal anyway...

Things are Cook-ing at GH

This just in from SOAPNet.com:

SOAPnet.com can exclusively confirm that Jason Cook is joining the cast of GH. Jason is best known as Shawn Brady, the DAYS character he played from 1999 to 2006. Shawn was one half of Shawn and Belle, known by longtime fans as "Shelle" -- the pair who put the "super" back in supercouple in fictional Salem. And just who played Belle? That's right: Kirsten Storms, aka resident GH fashionista Maxie Jones. Jason will be playing a doctor who joins the staff at Port Charles's infamous hospital; no first airdate has been set, but he'll likely start appearing in June. We CAN tell you his character will be crossing paths with Maxie very early on. Could there be a "Shelle" redux? You'll have to stay tuned for more details!

During his DAYS tenure, Cook received nine Soaphunks.net Award nominations, winning four. He also finished 10th in the Adonis 2004 contest; a June start date on GH would render him ineligible for Adonis 2008.

Adonis 2008 calendar unveiled

The temperatures are rising outside, no doubt thanks to the launching of soaphunks.net's 5th annual Adonis contest.

The calendar for Adonis 2008 will play out like this as we search for the sexiest man in soaps:

April 30, 2008: Those fans attending live chat will go through each soap hunk with me to help determine the 32 semifinalists.
May 7, 2008: The selected 32 semifinalists will be divided into four groups of eight by random draw. These four groups will represent the first four weeks of voting in the competition.
May 14-20, 2008: Week 1 voting (Group 1 of semifinalists).
May 21, 2008: Week 1 results announced in live chat.
May 21-27, 2008: Week 2 voting (Group 2 of semifinalists).
May 28, 2008: Week 2 results announced in live chat.
May 28-June 3, 2008: Week 3 voting (Group 3 of semifinalists).
June 4, 2008: Week 3 results announced in live chat.
June 4-10, 2008: Week 4 voting (Group 4 of semifinalists).
June 11, 2008: Week 4 results announced in live chat.
June 11-17, 2008: Week 5 voting (Wild card semifinalists).
June 18, 2008: Week 5 results announced in live chat.

Voting for the finals will then begin on June 18, with one finalist eliminated each week, resulting in the identity of the Adonis 2008 being revealed on September 3, 2008.

Be sure to join us all summer long!

Cibrian taking his dimples to ABC's 'Ugly Betty'

This item from JustJared made my day:

Dimples du jour Eddie Cibrian has nabbed a multi-episode on the hit ABC drama Ugly Betty, reports TV Guide.

Cibrian, 34, will play the love interest of Betty’s older sister Hilda Suarez (Ana Ortiz). The Cuban-American actor will also play the gym teacher of Hilda’s son, Justin (Mark Indelicato). You can bet we’ll be seeing Eddie in short shorts and in various states of undress!

Cibrian will appear in three eps this season with the possibility of returning in the fall. Ugly Betty returns April 24 with five new eps."

Writers with ideas like this should never go on strike!

An open letter to John-Paul Lavoisier

Dear John-Paul Lavoisier,

I just had to write and let you know how absolutely unmissable you now are as Rex Balsom on OLTL. Now don't get me wrong, I've been a fan of yours since your first days in Llanview, when you won your first Soaphunks.net Award, for Hunkiest Newcomer.

I even stuck with you when you stayed all covered up, enough so that you earned another win, this time as Most Shamefully Clothed. And most steadfastly, I stuck by you during some truly troubling eggbeater hairstyles.

But JPL, your time is now. Your hair looks PERFECT. (Never change it!) Your body looks wonderful. Your acting is excellent. You radiate chemistry with your co-stars, and you possess a charisma rare in actors of your age in this genre. An Emmy nomination has been due for years, and I am betting this year it finally comes. I truly look forward to seeing what you have in store for me on OLTL each day now.

Hot. Sexy. Funny. Talented. It's just not fair that one guy could be all four of those things at once. Make room for one more adjective: appreciated. Because you are.

Yours truly,

soapy :)

Soap hunks pinch hit--hilariously--for ESPN

If you haven't seen ESPN's latest series of promotional ads for the network's Fantasy Baseball, you have to check them out. It helps to have the ABC soap stars in the same media family, as that allows access to John-Paul Lavoisier, Cameron Mathison, John Brotherton, and David Fumero, each of whom shows a penchant for over-the-top comedy in this running series.

Site overhaul for Soaphunks.net's 10th anniversary!

How time flies...June will mark Soaphunks.net's 10th anniversary! To mark the occasion, I've spent the last couple of months doing a massive upgrade and overhaul of the site. There's lots of new functionality that didn't exist before, which I hope everyone likes.

The new site's features include:

• thumbnails (at last!) for all 6,167 pictures
• streaming video for the 128 video clips, plus clip downloading
• direct search boxes for all soaps and all hunks at the top of every page
• a sharper visual look
• links to the Shrine's spots on Youtube, Myspace, and Yahoo!
• the ability to e-mail me and donate to the site (hint, hint) at the top of every page
• continuations of your old favorites, like Adonis, the Soaphunks.net Awards, and more

Big thanks to all my site contributors (especially, Jason, DC, and Matt) who were just beyond helpful during this transition.

I hope you guys enjoy the new site, and here's to another 10 years!

OLTL Navy SEAL role finally cast...

The role that just about every former soap hunk auditioned for, OLTL's Brody, has finally been cast.

Among the ultra-hotties who went out for the part were Adrian Bellani, Brody Hutzler, David Lago, Matt Marraccini, Jack Krizmanich, Wes Ramsey, and Scott Bailey.

So after all that, which of these soap hunks is finally headed back to daytime? None of them, as newcomer Mark Lawson begins taping March 15th.

P.S. Note to OLTL: If David Fumero indeed leaves again, as has been reported, Adrian Bellani would be a PERFECT recast. I'm just sayin'.

Check out Marcus Patrick in 'Descent'

Attention Marcus Patrick fans! You'll want to check out the Soaphunks.net Award winner in "Descent," a new film co-starring Rosario Dawson. It's a very intense movie about a college co-ed struggling to rebuild her life after she is brutally attacked.

I always like to to support former soap hunks when they move into feature films, and this one's just hitting DVD. Check it out today!